Wheat free cupcakes - can anyone in the know help?

[FirstOfficerDouglasRichardson]

I have a little boy coming to my DS's birthday party that needs a wheat free diet. Party food is sorted. But I want to make some wheat free cupcakes to go with DS's main birthday cake so this little boy is not left out.

I've googled and I'm confused.

Is wheat free the same as gluten free?

I'm sure one of you lovely MNers will know. And if you can recommend a wheat free cupcake recipe I will be eternally grateful.

Just buy some Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour (about £2.50 from most supermarkets) and use it to make some cakes the same as you would normally.

Ingredients are:

"naturally gluten free rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat. It is perfect for anyone on a Gluten Free diet and can be substituted for everyday self raising flour although it will require a little extra liquid in most recipes. Many customers may not even notice resulting cakes are gluten free."

Not sure what buckwheat is or whether it counts as wheat though! Presuming as this is probably the most common GF flour around that it is suitable for people with wheat allergy.

My DP bakes with this and has made some really lovely cakes which are really not any different from normal cupcakes/victoria sandwich type cakes.

Thank you. So wheat free and gluten free are definitely the same thing?

I agree with Amy, Doves farm slef raising flour, and Nigella's fairy cake recipe. I make them all the time, no child has ever noticed the difference, and then I get to scoff the leftovers...

Oh and buckwheat isn't a type of wheat by the way, it isn't related to wheat at all. The doves farm flour is wheat and gluten free.
And apologies for the "slef raising" which sounds like a bizarre medieval occult practice..

Wheat has gluten in so any gluten free recipe is wheat-free from my understanding. I use this cupcake recipe for DD.

It's easy. My 12 year old makes her own cakes. Gluten free flour is available everywhere.

No wheat free and gluten free are not the same thing, as the child may be able to eat other grains that have gluten in, like barley. Some gluten free breads may have wheat protein in, but have the gluten removed. Some people reacting to wheat assume wheat is the problem when it is just the gluten component though. Either way you are safest going gluten free, and I know the dove's farm flour is also wheat free as I have some downstairs.

And TBH, the flour is so good, that if you use it for the main birthday cake you will honestly not taste the difference. I make cakes for a local cafe, no-one knows that the cake is gluten free unless they are told. It works in any bog standard sponge recipe. (And no I don't work for Dove's farm!!).

It's lovely that you are making the effort for the boy . But TBH I think it would be better if you bought some ready-made goodies for him from a coeliac range.

Unless his parents have told you that contamination is not a problem, you could, with the best will in the world, make him very ill with a home-made 'wheat-free' cake.

It is very easy to bake wheat-free. It is much trickier to ensure no contamination if you are baking in a non-WF kitchen.

the doves farm flour is fine, use it just like normal flour.
check your baking powder though, some contain wheat.

I agree cross contamination can be a problem, but I am coeliac, and I am just very careful to cook my gluten free things away from anything glutenous, and I have never had a problem. Is he coeliac? If so ask his mother what she would like you to do. If he isn't coeliac, then it is enough to just keep everything separate, and make sure you don't cut a gluten free cake with the one you just used on a normal cake for instance, and keep a plate of food for him covered and away from the sticky hands of other children. Talk to his Mum, as there is a huge difference between coeliac and a wheat intolerance.

Thank you all so much. I'll mention making fairy cakes with this special flour and see what she says. If cross contamination (I will cook them entirely separately) is a problem or too much of a risk I will look to buy some.

Thank you all, very helpful!